Olympian Martin to host clinics on retraining racehorses in Japan

Two-time Olympic three-day event rider Boyd Martin will host clinics on retraining Thoroughbred racehorses in Japan this December, in partnership with the National Riding Club Association of Japan, the Japan Racing Association, and Godolphin.

The partnership between these organizations, the first of its kind in the region, will work to promote the versatility of Thoroughbreds and their ability to adapt to alternative careers after racing. The international Godolphin operation of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, which has a stallion farm in Japan, works with regional partners to support former Godolphin runners in second careers as part of its “Godolphin Lifetime Care” program.

Martin competed for the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics in London and last year in Brazil, where he rode former racehorse Blackfoot Mystery. Martin's other top mounts have included Australian Thoroughbred Neville Bardos, named the 2011 International Horse of the Year by the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

“In my opinion, the off-the-track Thoroughbred is the ultimate event horse," Martin said. "Not every OTTB is destined for greatness, but I would take a nice-moving, quiet-thinking, bold, brave, good-jumping Thoroughbred over any other horse breed in the world. There's no better breed to be a four-star event horse.”

In May, Martin was a keynote speaker at the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses's first conference in Washington. A delegation from the JRA was in attendance and was impressed by his presentation.

"We hope this event will not only increase the knowledge and skills of horse people in retraining racehorses but also build awareness within the general public of the suitability of Thoroughbreds as riding horses," Takahiro Nishio, equestrian affairs section councilor at the JRA, said in a release.

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